Tourism Whitsundays stays afloat in face of COVID
The annual report revealed the industry was bleeding $75m a month during lockdown.
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TOURISM Whitsundays has doubled its base funding this year to give a 20 to one return on investment, despite the industry bleeding $75 million a month during the COVID lockdown.
After arguably one of the toughest years for tourism, the organisation has released its annual report.
The report revealed Tourism Whitsundays recorded a $36,561 profit in the 2019-20 financial year.
The money coming in included a $50,000 boost from the ATO and $81,000 in JobKeeper payments.
This compared to a profit on $96,240 the previous financial year.
However, the organisation converted $1,552,000 of base funding into an annual budget of $3,286,009 through initiatives such as grants and partnerships.
Tourism Whitsundays CEO Tash Wheeler said at the end of 2019, the region was in an excellent position with strong forward bookings.
Tourism Research Australia reported from October 2018 to September 2019, the Whitsundays experienced record growth in the domestic visitation market, up 3.5 per cent from the same period in the previous year.
"It felt like we had put the past tough couple of years behind us," Mrs Wheeler said.
"Then, the world changed as we faced COVID-19.
"The last half of the 2019-20 financial year was undoubtedly a challenging time, the likes of which the global tourism industry has never seen."
The report estimated the industry was losing approximately $75 million a month up until travel restrictions for Queenslanders were eased in early June.
Despite the challenges, Tourism Whitsundays has generated more than $4 million in direct members throughout their campaigns.
The Mates Rates campaign generated $353,659 in revenue for operators with a six to one return on investment.
More than 1400 people booked a holiday through the Escape Winter campaign with a four to one return on investment.
The Frontline Workers campaign was also a success and generated $2,725,344 in revenue for operators across 2651 bookings.
Across the three campaigns, an investment of $170,000 resulted in more than 5600 bookings and generated more than $3.5 million in direct bookings for the industry.
For Tourism Whitsundays, this translated into a 20 to one return on investment.
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Mayor Andrew Willcox congratulated the team on its efforts and said the council would continue to support tourism in the region alongside Tourism Whitsundays.
"Tash and her team repeatedly punch well above their weight and always deliver great outcomes," he said.
"Last year, for every dollar of council funds, Tourism Whitsundays turned this into $4.56 through collaborative funding which is an outstanding return on investment from our perspective.
"Any time you can give an organisation $1 and they turn it into $4.56 is a huge win."
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